“Animals are sentient beings that can feel pain, fear, and distress, so we are wholeheartedly committed to the principles of the ‘3Rs’ – replacing the use of animals in research, reducing the number of animals used, and refining experimental procedure to reduce suffering.”

The SPCA would like to see the $50 million cost of this giant animal research facility used to develop further alternative techniques, rather than used to build a laboratory for conducting further experiments on sentient animals.”

Meanwhile, Professor Richard Blaikie, the University’s deputy vice-chancellor of research and enterprise, said that the facility will provide the “highest standard of care.”

That’s hard to believe considering the University was involved in a study in 2009 using live pigs who were shot in the head to study blood spatter patterns. If the University thinks that is essential research and a high standard of care, then I shudder to think of what’s coming.

All I can say is if you are thinking of studying in New Zealand, you might want to show your support for animals by boycotting the University of Otago.